It is sometimes difficult to prove if a sexual act is consensual or non-consensual. Fraud, intoxication, or miscommunication between two potential sex partners can result in rape or sexual assault. On the other hand, fraud or greed can subject one of the sex partners to potential wrongful criminal and civil liability.
CIRCLE of 6 provides a smartphone application (APP) that allows a user to pre-program contact information of six close friends. If a user is put into a potentially threatening situation, the user can use the APP to immediately and automatically notify the six pre-selected friends that the user needs assistance. The APP also provides the location of the user. Although Circle of 6 is an advance in the area of personal safety, the APP does not protect the legal rights of consenting or non-consenting partners.
Another approach is a written consent record between two consenting partners. An example is the Campus Sexual Consent Form, (http://www.bluerepublican.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Campus-Sexual-Consent-Form.pdf). The written consent record is signed prior to the execution of any sexual contact between at least two consenting adults. This approach offers some protection to the partners, but paper consent records can be lost, stolen, laundered in garments, or forged. Moreover, apparent consent can be given by one or more partners even if legal consent is absent. Stated another way, a partner who cannot legally consent due to age, mental maturity, intoxication, etc. can still give apparent but not legal written consent.
Good2Go was an APP used to prove consent. The Good2Go APP relied on self-identification of intoxication and age.